Insomnia

Insomnia's harmonic language is deliberately minimal — just three chords across the entire track — but its genius lies in structure rather than complexity. The verses sit on a bare Dm pedal, building tension through rhythmic and textural layering rather than harmonic movement. When the i-VI-VII progression finally arrives with the iconic synth riff, the release of harmonic stasis creates an outsized emotional impact. This 'waiting, waiting, waiting then bang' approach, as Sister Bliss described it, turned simple harmony into one of dance music's most powerful moments.

Sister Bliss came up with the song's title during a period when she was unable to sleep, describing her routine of working in Rollo's studio during the day and DJing at night as 'like having permanent jetlag.' She wrote the iconic keyboard riff after Rollo asked her to 'do big strings,' borrowing the idea of shifting from a major to a minor chord from Donna Summer's 'I Feel Love.' The placement of the main riff toward the end of the song was inspired by Underworld's approach to building tension. Maxi Jazz spent roughly 20 minutes writing the lyrics after Rollo gave him the title, then finished them in the studio the following evening and laid down the vocal in about 25 minutes.

Released as the second single from Faithless's debut album Reverence, 'Insomnia' fused Maxi Jazz's stream-of-consciousness rap about sleeplessness with Sister Bliss's tension-building production that withholds its euphoric synth payoff until the final third. The track topped charts across Europe and became a defining anthem of 90s dance culture, voted the fifth greatest dance record of all time by Mixmag readers.